Tony Blair Said to Help Broker Glencore-Xstrata Deal

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Friday, 7 Sep 2012 | 7:34 AM ETCNBC.com

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Former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair helped to broker a new deal between commodity trader Glencore and London-listed miner Xstrata, that was struck at a secret meeting in London, the Financial Times reported on Friday.

Sebastian Derungs | AFP | Getty Images

The headquarters of the Swiss commodities giant Glencore in Baar, Switzerland.

Glencore announced on Friday it was raising its offer for Xstrata to rescue the bid.

Many analysts believed the deal was doomed after Qatar, one of Glencore’s largest shareholders, said it would vote against it.

“Glencore and Qatar agreed the details of the revised offer at a secret meeting in London that started on Thursday evening and continued until the early hours of Friday,” the FT said, citing people familiar with the talks.

Blair, who served as British Prime Minister from 1997 to 2007, helped to bring together Glencore Chief Executive Ivan Glasenberg and Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani, the Qatari prime minister, the paper said.

Blair is currently the Special Envoy for the Middle East for the Quartet (the UN, U.S., European Union and Russia), giving him influence and a network of contacts in the region. His office was not immediately available for comment.

Contact Europe: Economy

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